//------------------------------// // First Duel - vs Fluttershy // Story: Duelists of the Autumn Crown // by DrakeyC //------------------------------// Duelists of the Autumn Crown First Duel - Twilight vs Fluttershy Fluttershy pushed open the doors of the school. “Here we are.” Twilight followed her. A large open field with painted lines and tall steel poles at either end greeted her. It reminded her of a buckball stadium. She saw a couple of students sitting on the stands to the left. “Okay, this is good.” Fluttershy held out a hand for Twilight to stop while she kept walking. When she was about twenty feet away, she turned. Twilight looked at her duel disk and pressed the button to activate it. It lit up and folded out. “All right.” Fluttershy’s voice came from a small speaker built into Twilight’s duel disk. “I’ll try to go easy. If you need me to explain something, just ask. Ready?” Twilight nodded. “Yes. And don’t go easy. If Sunset Shimmer is the school champion, I’ll have to be good at this game to beat her.” “If you say so.” Twilight saw Fluttershy press another button on her disk. “Opponent detected,” a digital voice from Twilight duel disk said. “Streaming data.” A picture of Fluttershy with her win-loss record appeared on a hologram in the air over the disk. Twilight winced at the display; 2-9. “Duel mode set. Initiating.” The hologram changed into a split screen. On one half was Twilight’s portrait with a numerical display for her Life Points, 4000, and a small grid displaying her duel field. The other half showed Fluttershy’s field. “Commence duel?” A button on the device began to blink. “Okay, Twilight. Just press the button and we’ll begin.” Twilight took a breath. It’s just a card game. I can do this. She reached down and pressed the button. “Game start!” -Twilight Life Points: 4000- -Fluttershy Life Points: 4000- The split screen flashed between Twilight and Fluttershy and stopped displaying Fluttershy. “Opponent takes first turn.” Twilight’s duel disk ejected five cards from the top for her opening hand and she picked them up.   “Here I go.” Across the field, Twilight saw Fluttershy draw. “I summon ‘Baby Raccoon Ponpoko’.” A large hologram emitted from Fluttershy’s duel disk in a flash of rainbow light. It solidified into the image of a small raccoon banging on a drum strapped to its chest. Twilight gasped. That’s the hologram technology the booklet mentioned? That’s amazing! She saw a tooltip appear on her duel disk screen and tapped it. A hologram of Fluttershy’s card projected above the disk, allowing Twilight to read its statistics. Level 2, Earth-attribute, Beast-type. Attack points 800, Defense points 0. Twilight frowned. Doesn’t seem too dangerous. “When Ponpoko is summoned, I can activate its effect.” Fluttershy took her deck out of her disk. “I can select any Level 2 Beast-type monster in my deck and summon it in face-down position.” She found her card and set it on the disk. On the field next to Ponpoko, the large hologram of a face-down card appeared. “I end my turn.” Fluttershy smiled. “Good luck.” “Thanks.” Twilight drew her card and looked at her hand. First thing’s first. Summon a monster to attack and defend myself. But which one? She peered closer at her cards to read the text on the bottom. She smiled and lifted a hand from her hand. “I summon ‘Harmony Spirit Gracia’.” She set the card on the disk. In front of her appeared a angelic fairy with butterfly wings, pale yellow skin, and long pink hair. It spun in place and spread its arms out. (900/1800). “Here I come, Fluttershy. I enter my battle phase. Gracia attacks Ponpoko!” Gracia flew up and beat her wings harder. A gust whipped across the field and flung Ponpoko backwards. Fluttershy squeaked and raised her arm to defend herself as the hologram hit the ground and exploded. Twilight looked at her display. -Fluttershy Life Points: 3900- Gracia has 900 points, Ponpoko has 800, so she loses 100 Life Points. Not much, but it’s a start. Twilight raised her head to see Fluttershy looking at where her monster’s hologram had been thrown. “Sorry, Fluttershy.” “Don’t be,” came the response as Fluttershy turned back to her. “You want to win, right?” “Yes, but…” But you’re my friend.   “I’m fine. Continue your turn.” “Okay.” Twilight looked over her hand. Nothing that seems too useful for now. “I end my turn.” She turned her focus back to Fluttershy. “Your turn again.” Fluttershy drew. She bit her lip. “Twilight, you said not to hold back, right?” “Right.” Twilight nodded. “I have to learn how to play this game properly, so go all out! If I lose, I lose.” “Okay…” Fluttershy put a hand on her face-down card. “I flip summon ‘Baby Raccoon Tantan’. Another baby raccoon appeared in front of Fluttershy, banging gongs on a large drum on its chest. (0/800). “Tantan’s effect activates when flipped face-up, letting me summon a Level 2 Beast-type monster from my deck.” Fluttershy fanned out her cards and held one up. “I summon ‘Kalantosa, Mystical Beast of the Forest’.” A small white rabbit with a mass of leaves sprouting from its back appeared next to Tantan. (200/1400). “When Kalantosa is summoned by the effect of a Beast-type monster, its own effect activates. I can select and destroy one card on the field.” Fluttershy thrust her hand at Twilight. “I choose your Harmony Spirit!” Twilight gasped. “Wait!” Fluttershy paused and lowered her hand slightly. “Um, yes?” “Uh…” Twilight looked over her hand. “Hang on…” She held up one card and read its text. “During either player’s turn, you can discard this card…" “Chain resolving in ten, nine…”   “Wait!” Twilight screamed at the digital voice. “I’m not done reading my cards!” “I’m sorry, I forgot! You have a time limit to respond to the opponent’s play, it’s a judge’s rule!” “But I don’t even—" “Chain resolving.”   Kalantosa shuffled in place and a storm of leaves fell off its back and flew across the field. Twilight jumped to action and speed-read the card in her hand. She grinned and slid it onto her duel disk. A pale pink fairy with a mass of dark pink hair appeared in front of Gracia and held up its hands with a giggle. A field of energy came from them, and Kalantosa’s leaves hit it and fell to the ground. Fluttershy blinked. “What was that?” Twilight let out a breath. “When a Harmony Spirit monster on my field is targeted by a card effect, I can discard ‘Harmony Spirit Risus’ from my hand to negate that effect.” Twilight slid her card into the discard slot on her duel disk, its image on the field vanishing. An icon appeared on Twilight’s screen and she tapped it. Gracia lit up with a yellow aura. “But that’s not all. When I discard a Harmony Spirit monster from my hand, the effect of Gracia on the field activates. For the rest of the turn my Harmony Spirit monsters can’t be destroyed by battle with enemy monsters.” She smiled. Well, got through that. “I don’t think that’s going to be enough.” Fluttershy lifted a card from her hand. “I summon ‘Valerifawn, Mystical Beast of the Forest’ from my hand.” A small deer with moss growing over its body skipped into place around Fluttershy, prancing into place next to Tantan and Kalantosa. (400/900). “I activate Valerifawn’s effect and discard a card to revive a Beast-type monster in my Graveyard.” A card slid out from the discard slot and she slapped it on her duel disk. “Return, Baby Raccoon Ponpoko!” Fluttershy’s first monster rose from a vortex that appeared next to Valerifawn. “I’m not done yet. I activate a Spell card, ‘The Big March of Animals’!” The field rumbled and a bright green aura appeared over Fluttershy’s monsters. “For the rest of the turn, all Beast-type monsters I control gain 200 attack points times the number of Beast-types I control. With four Beasts in play, they each gain 800 points.” Fluttershy grabbed another card. “Finally, from my hand I activate the Quickplay Spell ‘Rush Recklessly’ to increase Tantan’s attack by 700 for the rest of the turn!” Twilight gaped at the four monsters filling Fluttershy’s side of the field, growing larger as her card effects powered them up “Are we sure this is Fluttershy?” She hissed, glancing down at Spike. “You did tell her not to go easy on you.” “Well she could go a little easy! This is my first time!” “Even if your monster can’t be destroyed now, I can damage your Life Points by attacking it.” Fluttershy bit her lip. “Sorry.” “So am I,“ Twilight groaned. Fluttershy swung her hand out. “All of my monsters attack Gracia!” Ponpoko (800 → 1600) ran across the field and raked its tiny claws across Gracia. Gracia screamed and turned away. Valerifawn (400 → 1200) reached it next and leapt up, landing and stomping on it hard. Tantan (0 → 1500) reached it and slammed one of its gongs into Gracia. Finally, Kalantosa (200 → 1000) send a barrage of leaves at it. Gracia collapsed to the ground and Fluttershy’s monsters retreated to her side of the field. Twilight looked at her display and thought. 900 minused from 1600, 1200, 1500, and 1000. By the time she had finished the mental math, her duel disk had already counted down to her new total. Whoa. -Twilight Life Points: 2300- “I set one card and end my turn.” Fluttershy lowered her Duel Disk. “At this time my Spell effects end and the attack points of my monsters returns to normal.” Twilight slowly shook her head. She said she wasn’t very good, but she just took off half my Life Points on her second turn. “Nice play, girlie!” Twilight turned her head. The few students that had been sitting on the stands were now watching the duel and one of them was cheering and pumping his first at Fluttershy. “Sorry for that, Twilight.” “Don’t be. If they want to watch, let them. It’s my turn.” Twilight drew her card and looked at it. “Okay… think…” Twilight read her new card’s effect. She smiled. This will do. “I summon ‘Harmony Spirit Magnanimity’.” A pale white fairy with a spiral horn and curled purple hair rose on the field next to Gracia. (1200/800). Time to think. Twilight tapped through the display on her duel disk and viewed the holograms of Fluttershy’s cards. She got four monsters on the field like it was nothing. Anything I destroy will be revived by Valerifawn. I could destroy it, but if she has a way to bring it back, or summon another copy of it, then I’m back to square one. I can’t survive another turn like the last one. She made a face and looked up at Fluttershy’s field. “What’s the plan, Twilight?” Spike asked. “Get rid of her monsters and stop her from getting more.” “Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. “Who are you talking to?” “Hm? Oh! Um, myself!” Twilight laughed awkwardly. “Just thinking aloud.” “Oh. Okay.” “I’m just trying to think of a way to block—" Twilight gasped. Of course! She looked down at her deck. Though, that’s presuming I even have a card in here that can do it. She looked at her hand. “I discard ‘Harmony Spirit Honestas’ and activate its effect.” Another fairy appeared on Twilight’s field, this one bright orange with pale yellow hair. It held out a hand and sent a pulse of light out. “By discarding this card, I can look at all face-down cards on your side of the field.” The wave of light reached Fluttershy’s set card and a ghostly image of it rippled into place above it. Twilight looked at her display. Sakuretsu Armor, targets and destroys an opponent’s attacking monster. She smiled. I can work with that. But first…   “Since I just discarded a Harmony Spirit, the effect of Magnanimity activates, letting me draw a card.” Twilight put a hand on her deck and drew. She looked at her card. Perfect! “I set one card face-down and activate the Spell card ‘Harmony Fruit’.” A glowing green and red fruit appeared next to Twilight and lit up. “This lets me return two Harmony Spirit monsters in the Graveyard to my hand.” Risus and Honestas slid out of Twilight’s Graveyard and she added them to her hand. “Now, Gracia attacks Baby Racoon Tantan, and Magnanimity attacks Kalentosa!” The two fairies raced across the field, Magnanimity sprinting while Gracia flew. “I activate the Trap ‘Sakuretsu Armor’,” Fluttershy said. The card flipped up and a suit of armor appeared over Tantan, a spirit flying towards Gracia. “Since you declared an attack, my Trap will destroy Gracia.” “No it won’t. From my hand, I chain the effect of Harmony Spirit Risus!” Twilight discarded the card again. “The effect of your targeting card effect is negated.” The spirit in the air hit a ghostly spectre of Risus and the two dissolved into nothingness. Gracia reached Tantan and kicked it backwards, while Magnanimity fired a orb of blue magic into Kalentosa. Fluttershy looked away as their holograms exploded. -Fluttershy Life Points: 2200- Twilight lowered her hand from her duel disk. “Your move, Fluttershy.” On the side of the field the students were now cheering for Twilight. She blushed at their calls. I guess I’m doing well. She saw a couple new students coming closer to watch as well. “I draw.” Fluttershy glanced at her card and discarded it. “I activate the effect of Valerifawn, and discard a card to—" “Hang on!” Twilight grinned. “I think I have the hang of this chaining rule, so I’m activating my own card. It’s a Trap, ‘Harmony Song’.” The card flipped on the field and a melodious wave of music came from it. “Since I control a Harmony Spirit monster, I can discard another Harmony Spirit, and if I do, you’re forbidden from Special Summoning for the rest of the turn!” Fluttershy gasped. “Oh no!” She looked at her hand. “Um… oh my…” Twilight felt a pang of guilt. She’s reliant on swarming the field with low-level monsters, then powering them up. Now she’s just had that strategy stopped cold. “I draw a card due to the effect of Magnanimity, as well.” Twilight drew her card and looked at it, then turned her attention back to Fluttershy. So, what’s next? “I activate ‘Monster Recovery’!” Fluttershy took Ponpoko’s card off her duel disk. “I shuffle Ponpoko and all cards in my hand into the deck, then draw the same number of cards as were in my hand.” She folded her cards up and put them on top of her deck, her duel disk rapidly shuffling them. Fluttershy picked up her new hand and fanned them out. “There.” She nodded and looked over at Twilight. “I’m not out yet, Twilight. I tribute my Valerifawn, and summon ‘Behemoth, the King of All Animals’!” Valerifawn vanished from the field. A large white image appeared behind Fluttershy and came into focus. Twilight stepped back at the sight, her eyes wide. A massive pink and purple monster loomed over the field, cuffs with broken chains wrapped around its paws. Curved horns rose into the air on either side of a massive mane of dark fur. Drool dripped from the beast’s jaws as it roared loudly. (2700/1500). “Behemoth normally needs two monsters for its tribute summon, but I can tribute it with only one monster by decreasing Behemoth’s attack points to 2000,” Fluttershy explained. Behemoth growled and shuddered as the sap took effect in an aura of red light (2000/15000). “Additionally, for each monster tributed to summon Behemoth, I can return a Beast monster in my Graveyard to my hand.” Fluttershy held up Valerifawn to show it to Twilight. “Next, my battle phase. Behemoth, attack Gracia!” Behemoth roared again and bounded over Fluttershy’s head to charge Twilight. “Don’t forget, since I discarded a Harmony Spirit this turn, my Harmony Spirits can’t be destroyed in battle,” Twilight called. “I know. But Behemoth can still harm your Life Points.” Behemoth reached Gracia and slammed a paw into it, pitching it to the side. It hit the ground heavily and groaned. -Twilight Life Points: 1200- “I end my turn.” Twilight looked up at Behemoth as it stomped back to Fluttershy. She laughed. “Are you sure you don’t play this game a lot? Because you seem really good.” Fluttershy smiled sheepishly. “Thank you. I’m surprised I remember how to use this deck even. I haven’t played in a long time. Not since two years ago.” “What happened?” “Sunset Shimmer came.” Twilight paused. “What?” Fluttershy bit her lip. “I used to play all the time. I never really cared if I won or lost, I just had fun playing with my friends.” She looked down at her deck and closed her eyes. “Everyone always made fun of me because I played using low-level monsters like these. But my friends defended me and told them I played the way I wanted to and that was what’s really important.” Fluttershy looked to either side of the field, Twilight doing so as well. The watching students had grown to a small crowd and Twilight heard cheers for both of them coming from them. “This is what dueling should be about,” Fluttershy said. “Those tournaments used to bring students together. Kids that never would have spoken to each other met and mingled for the tournament, they made new friends, traded cards, shared strategies, cheered for each other.” She smiled and put a hand on her chest. “They say you reveal who you really are through your deck and your strategies. So I always thought dueling was a way for people to communicate their true selves to each other. I know that may seem silly, but it sort of happened.” She frowned and shook her head. “Not since Sunset Shimmer. Now it’s just about proving you’re the best. No one has fun anymore, no one makes friends over dueling. It’s just a competition. I couldn’t stand it. Everyone kept challenging me to improve their rank since they thought I was weak. So I just gave it up and hid my deck and my disk in my locker.” Twilight listened intently as Fluttershy poured her heart out to her. When she sensed Fluttershy was done, she nodded. “Sunset ruined this game for everyone. But if you truly love it, you can still play with your friends, right?” “I used to.” Fluttershy closed her eyes. “Applejack and Rainbow Dash got caught up in the competition and went off on their own. Pinkie was in charge of running the tournaments, and then when she got the new ranking system to oversee, she never had time to play anymore. And Rarity just gave it up because everyone was so bitter over it all.” She sniffed. “I haven’t duelled a friend in a long time…” She looked up and opened her eyes. “Twilight, win or lose… this has been a really fun duel. Thank you.” Twilight smiled warmly. “You’re welcome, Fluttershy.” “Now, take your turn.” Fluttershy pumped her fist and winked. “If you can win it, do it!” “Right!” Twilight drew her card with a flourish and flipped it over. “I summon ‘Harmony Spirit Pietas.” A light blue spirit with a multi-hued head of hair and a strong pair of feathered wings floated onto the field. It spun in place and kicked the air before posing with its fists held out (1600/800). “Next, I activate the effect of the monster I just drew, ‘Harmony Spirit Magia’.” Twilight discarded her card. The image of a pale lavender fairy with a long horn appeared, and held out her hand. She cried out and an aura of magic appeared over her hand and horn. Fluttershy looked down as a light shined out from her Graveyard. “W-what?” “By discarding Magia from my hand, I can banish any Spell card in either player’s Graveyard, and copy its effect.” Twilight leaned forward. “I choose your Rush Recklessly!” Fluttershy gasped “No!” The card flew out of Fluttershy’s duel disk into Magia’s hand. The fairy flipped it over to show the card back to Fluttershy, and the two vanished into light. “By the effect of Rush Recklessly, the power of Pietas increases by 700 for the rest of the turn.” Pietas twitched and cried out as an aura of blue light surrounded its fists (1600  → 2300). Twilight thrust out her hand. “Pietas, attack Behemoth!” The fairy flapped its wings and zoomed across the field, a fist held out. Behemoth roared as the high-speed punch connected, the force sending it toppling onto its side. Fluttershy winced and looked up at Pietas floating overhead. “Gracia, Magnaimity, direct attack!” The two spirits came up beside Pietas in the air and held out their hands. Orbs of yellow and white light manifested in their palms and shot towards Fluttershy. They slammed into the ground at her feet and exploded in rays of light and a cloud of smoke. “Fluttershy!” Twilight ran across the field and stopped in front of the fading smoke. Fluttershy was on her knees and looked up at Twilight. “I’m fine. It’s just holograms, remember? It does that stuff for dramatic effect.” “Oh…” Twilight blushed. “Right.” “That was great!” “You rock, Twilight!” Twilight turned her head. The students watching them were applauding loudly, whooping and throwing their arms up. She smiled and looked down at Fluttershy. “Thanks for the duel.” She held out her hand. Fluttershy let Twilight pull her up. “No, Twilight. I have to thank you. I haven’t had so much fun with this game in years.” “I’m glad.” Twilight looked back at the school, her expression darkening. “But it won’t be fun tomorrow. The tournament begins then?” Fluttershy nodded. “Mhm. The top sixteen students with the best win-loss ratios by the four in the afternoon move on to organized brackets. The semi-finals and finals happen the day after.” So the finals take place on the last day. I have to make it to the finals and win before midnight to make it home with my crown. Twilight breathed deep. “Any advice?” “Win. Unfortunately, it’s that simple.”